By GEOFF FRANK, Bluffton News-Banner
A proposed ethanol plant to be located at the southwest edge of Bluffton cleared a preliminary planning hearing Tuesday afternoon.
Plans for a 100 million gallons-per-year dry mill corn-processing ethanol plant were reviewed by the plat review committee of the Wells County Area Plan Commission.
APC Director Michael Lautzenheiser Jr. noted at the conclusion of the meeting that the plans submitted by Indiana Bio-Energy LLC satisfied the typical questions asked by committee members.
No actual vote is taken at the committee level, but members went through a checklist of questions and discussed such items as drainage, lighting, smell, sound, signage, and road access.
The committee review is intended to give a developer an indication early in the process of any key concerns so they can be resolved.
The project now advances to a development plan review by the full Area Plan Commission.
The meeting, which is open to the public, is scheduled at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 7.
Because no other petitions were filed, the proposed ethanol plant is expected to be the only item on the APC agenda that night.
Those present at Tuesday's plat review committee meeting were APC members Jarrod Hahn, Bill Horan, Joe Langel and Mike Morrissey, in addition to Lautzenheiser.
Representing Indiana Bio-Energy were Edgar Seward, general manager; Keith Huffman, a local attorney and a member of the IBE board; and Troy Flowers, the company's chief operating officer.
Huffman told committee members the project likely will be the largest development plan they will ever review in Wells County.
Updated numbers compiled Tuesday morning now put the cost of the project at $170 million, Flowers told the group.
The most recent previous figures had estimated the cost at $163.5 million.
The actual request for the development plan review was signed by Garry L. Jones, as executive director of the Wells County Chamber of Commerce Inc., which owns one of the parcels of property that would go into the ethanol plant location if the project goes forward.
Jones also is one of the initial investors in the ethanol project.
IBE has options to purchase all of the 346.08 acres included in the petition. A listing of all the property owners is at the end of this article.
Part of the property already is in the Bluffton city limits. The remainder is in the process of being annexed by Bluffton City Council.
The request for development plan review was filed Thursday. At that time, David Dale, chairman of the IBE board, said the action signaled IBE's intention to move forward at its previously designated preferred site.
The company has been evaluating its options since a 2-1 vote of the Wells County Board of Commissioners on June 27 that effectively pulled the plug on a requested partial public guarantee for the project's bonds in case of default by IBE.
At Tuesday's review committee meeting, members touched on a variety of issues.
Power lines will be under ground at the location.
The amount of light coming from the plant was a question raised on behalf of the City of Bluffton.
There will be typical street lighting and lights in other portions of the facility, Seward noted, but the lights will point downward, not up like a ball field.
A storm water detention pond within the rail oval will be sized for a 50-year event.
The water flow discharge into the Addington Tile will be sized for a 10-year event and restricted so that there will be less water going into the tile during times of heavy storms, Seward noted.
The detention pond could be increased in size in the future if needed for future growth at the location.
The discharge of noncontact cooling water is expected to be about 300 gallons a minute.
That amount is not expected to make a significant difference in the water level as it moves from the Addington Tile into the Schwartz Open Ditch and then into Bills Creek before ultimately flowing into the Wabash River, according to a review recently by Hahn, the county's surveyor.
A seventh water well is being drilled for the project, Seward noted. Although the second well drilled was disappointing, the rest of them were pretty good, he indicated. Six have been completed so far.
The Indiana Department of Natural Resources will monitor to ensure neighboring wells are not adversely impacted by the new water usage needs of the ethanol plant.
Both Seward and Huffman noted that IBE recognizes its responsibility to make things right for neighboring property owners who might be impacted by well issues.
Huffman said the company would give a written commitment if that would help satisfy concerns.
Seward noted the company will continue to gather data. It wants to have any well issues identified and resolved by next summer.
Most of the wells for the plant are 350 feet deep. One is 450 feet deep. Water quality also has been found to be good.
During the project, a portion of the Addington Tile is expected to be rerouted around the proposed plant location.
Hahn asked about reinforcement of the tile where it passes under the rail loop.
Seward said he would be meeting this week with the specialty company that handles the rail oval and will pursue the question then.
IBE would like to see companies in related fields also locate at the site, it was noted.
Huffman noted that people often ask about smell and sound issues related to ethanol plants. Neither is expected to be a significant concern at the plant, the committee was told.
IBE has added a truck staging area to its plans, so trucks can wait on the ethanol plant site, rather than out on Adams Street (County Road 100E).
The majority of the truck traffic is expected to be early in the morning, Seward said, as corn is brought in.
Plans for the facility include room for expansion in future, Huffman noted.
There are no fencing requirements for the facility, the committee was told.
Typically, said Seward, there would be security cameras at the main gate and at strategic locations on the property.
The planned ethanol site is zoned industrial I-1, which Huffman indicated fits the proposed development.
A sign will be posted soon at the proposed ethanol plant site to inform people of the Sept. 7 APC meeting on the development plan review. Such a sign is a routine requirement of the APC.
IBE expects to start soil borings late next week, said Seward.